With American democracy under threat, diplomat Richard Haass, the former director of the Council of Foreign Affairs, offers new ways of understanding the moment. Through his book The Bill of Obligations, a New York Times best seller, and an hour-long PBS film, Haass offers habits to preserve democracy, illustrated by real-life examples of Americans who are renewing the spirit of a more informed and engaged citizenry. Richard shares the film and then gets into a timely discussion with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, the preeminent scholar on anti-democratic movements.
Richard Haass is a veteran diplomat and respected scholar of international relations, and president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations after having served as CFR’s president for twenty years. He is also senior counselor with Centerview Partners, an international investment banking advisory firm. Haass is the author or editor of 13 books on American foreign policy including The World: A Brief Introduction (2020), A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order (2017).
Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History and Italian Studies at NYU.. She writes about fascism, authoritarianism, propaganda, and democracy protection. She is the recipient of Guggenheim and other fellowships, an advisor to Protect Democracy, and an MSNBC opinion columnist. She appears frequently on news networks. Her latest NY Times bestseller, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present examines how illiberal leaders use corruption, violence, propaganda, and machismo to stay in power, and how resistance to them has unfolded over a century.
